Mindful in 5 Podcast

Harness Gratitude in Action

• Spiwe Jefferson • Season 5 • Episode 153

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What if gratitude could be the key to transforming your professional life? In this  episode of Mindful in 5, explore the powerful theme of "Gratitude in Action" as we approach Thanksgiving. Amidst the hustle and bustle of daily work challenges, it’s easy to overlook the blessings that surround us. Together, let’s uncover how adopting a beginner’s mind, filled with childlike trust, creativity, and optimism, can bring clarity and joy to our routines. We'll walk through the "three good things" technique, a heartwarming exercise designed to shift your perspective and enhance the positive connections you find in your workplace.

Join me and your fellow Mindful Ninjas as we embark on a transformative journey to foster gratitude within ourselves, focusing on moments we can control rather than trying to change others. By reflecting on the good and seeking out joy, we discover that what we project is what we attract—a concept echoed in spiritual teachings, psychological principles, and self-help strategies alike. Let’s sit together in silence, breathe, and cultivate more moments of gratitude, ultimately boosting our happiness and fostering a peaceful outlook. 

Whether you're driven by scientific insights or spiritual beliefs, the path to a more fulfilling professional life is paved with gratitude and mindfulness.


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Spiwe Jefferson:

Welcome to Mindful in 5, where busy professionals find your peaceful oasis to thrive in complex work environments. I am Spiw Jefferson attorney, certified mindfulness practitioner and author of the Mindful in 5 book series. Here to guide you to a clearer, softer and more supported life. Join me and your fellow Mindful Ninjas as we explore science-backed mindfulness strategies for successful leaders that you can implement, starting with just five minutes a day. Elevate your work, empower your life, work higher, live stronger. Let's go.

Spiwe Jefferson:

Happy Thanksgiving. Do you often overlook the blessings in your work life, your vision clouded by daily challenges and routine tasks? A lack of gratitude can dim the cheerful light of your career, leaving you feeling unsupported and disconnected from the joyful purpose of your professional journey. Today, as we approach Thanksgiving, our topic is Gratitude in Action, where we are exploring how to put gratitude into action, bringing a clearer, more peaceful perspective to your work life. And if you're wondering about the cute kids in imagery this season, we are embracing the beginner's mind by channeling childlike qualities trust, authenticity, creativity, resilience and optimism to transform our mindfulness practice and daily lives. Let our playful cover art inspire you to approach each day with fresh eyes and an open heart. Okay, back to our topic. Imagine starting each workday with a sense of joyful appreciation, finding meaning in every task and fostering positive connections. By actively practicing gratitude, you can transform your work experience into a softer, more fulfilling adventure.

Spiwe Jefferson:

Let's explore a heartwarming technique called the three good things at work. Here is how this clear process works. Number one at day's end, peacefully reflect on three good things that happened at work. If you are a God lover, thank God for these three good things that happened at work. For each positive event, joyfully consider what and why. What good things occurred and why did this good thing occur? Step three explore how you can create more of these cheerful moments in the future. I am a huge advocate of starting every day with just five minutes that's why it's called Mindful in Five, no-transcript inner reflection. Sit by yourself, close your eyes, hopefully in the same space, every single day, and just be peaceful. Just sit with yourself in silence and breathe and think about, in this context, gratitude.

Spiwe Jefferson:

What can you do today to increase the amount of things that you will have to be grateful for? How do you have to show up in order to be able, at your day's end, to peacefully reflect on three good things that happened? In other words, what three good things can you make happen today? Now, most of us try really hard to control other people. So if you're thinking, well, my three good things would be great and they would totally happen if Joe would do this, if Peggy would do that, if Sandy would do this. These three things that I would like you to reflect on are three things that are squarely within your control, and they are not at all related to your ability to control other people, because most of us don't even control ourselves that well, much less other people, and our attempts to control other people will result in nothing but frustration. So what three good things can you make happen today? Studies show that this practice can significantly increase happiness and create a more peaceful outlook, even months after starting.

Spiwe Jefferson:

I like to say you attract what you reflect. So if you go out into the world looking for three good things, you're much more likely to find said three good things. God lovers, you may be familiar with a statement in the Bible that says seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened, ask and you shall receive. It's not in that order, but those are the three, and if you are in the world of psychology, you may think of that as self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are into self-help principles, you might be familiar with vision boarding and manifesting and all of these practices. So however you approach them, I think truth is always the same, no matter how you say it. So whichever one of these ways works for you, the bottom line is the same that which you go in search of is much more likely to come to you. You attract what you reflect. If you go out into the world looking for reasons for gratitude and joy, you will find them, and the more you look for them, the more of them you will find. Conversely, if you go out into the world with a bah humbug kind of attitude and you are convinced that nothing good is going to come of this day, then that will be your truth, because you will filter everything that does happen to you through that negative filter. And even if good things happen, you'll be afraid to really enjoy them because you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Spiwe Jefferson:

I heard of the study once where they interviewed people who were at the end of their lives in hospice and they asked them to reflect on their lives and what they wish they would have done differently, and a lot of them said I wish I had allowed myself to be happy. I wish I had allowed myself to be happy. See, we're so busy waiting for disappointment. We're so busy, oftentimes looking for the bad thing that will happen, that even in the face of really great things, we are just sitting there waiting and we do not fully allow ourselves to embrace and engage in the gratitude of a joyful moment. To embrace and engage in the gratitude of a joyful moment, so decide that today you're going to be different than that. If that has been your reality, there's no shame, because mindfulness is about being present in the moment without judgment and without being overwhelmed by what's happening around you. And so, if you have lived your life so far waiting for the other shoe to drop, just decide today that you're going to spend maybe just one day, just one day, looking for joy and just allowing yourself to experience it and see how much of a difference that makes to your outlook and to your view, and to just your level of happiness. It might make a difference and it might be appreciably better.

Spiwe Jefferson:

I try to leave you with a thought-provoking perspective in every episode, and today, try this on for size. Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it is a choice to see the world through a clearer and more joyful lens. I'll say that again Gratitude isn't just a feeling, so it's not just about do I feel grateful or not. It is instead a choice to see the world through a clearer, more joyful lens. And so here's your cheerful challenge for the week Practice the three good things at work.

Spiwe Jefferson:

Exercise every day. Notice how it brings a softer, more supported energy to your professional life, and also it might even improve your interpersonal relationships at work. And if you bring it home and you practice gratitude at home, it might also improve your interpersonal relationships with your family members as well. And that's particularly important as we're going into Thanksgiving, where many of us are going to be hanging out with our family and close friends. If you are ready to harness the peaceful power of these kinds of concepts in your career and in your life, I invite you to check out the downloadables section of spewardjeffersoncom.

Spiwe Jefferson:

There's a link in the notes for this podcast where you can find a growing list of blueprints and free overviews of each blueprint, and the blueprints are typically 20 day exercises and they'll take you about a month, because I'm presuming that you're probably going to do it. If you're good, you'll do it every weekday and then you can take a break on the weekends. But that's why they're 20 days. They're supposed to take you a month and these blueprints will address something specific in your working life to elevate your work and empower your life. Remember, gratitude is like a peaceful muscle the more you exercise it, the stronger and more joyful it becomes. As we approach Thanksgiving, let's bring that spirit of clear appreciation into our professional lives every day. May your work be filled with peaceful gratitude and joyful recognition. Have a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving Until next week. This is Spiwe saying be mindful and be well.

James@DiscovertheVoice:

Thank you for listening to Mindful in 5. If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend, follow and rate it on your favorite podcast platform. Pick up your signed copy of the book and journal from spiwejefferson. com, or unsigned copies from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or wherever you get your books. Visit SpiweJefferson. com to download sample chapters of the book, watch videos and become a mindful ninja. Join us on the LinkedIn Mindful in 5 group and share your thoughts. Until next time, be mindful and be well.